Blanket



Aug. 17, 1954 A, J, NELSON 2,686,538

BLANKET Filed Nov. 23, 1951 ffii/afar Patented Aug. 17, 1954 BLANKET Allan J. Nelson,

Springfield, Tenn., assigner to Springeld Woolen Mills Company, Springfield, Tenn., a corporation of Tennessee Application November 23, 1951, Serial No. 257,907

.heat insulating properties without increase in weight of material used in its fabrication, the improved blanket nevertheless has all of those characteristics, such as mechanical strength and durability, which have heretofore been recognized as essential characteristics of such articles.

Essentially the blanket is warmer for a given weight of material employed in its fabrication because it is thicker, i. e. has a higher or loftier nap than other blankets of comparable weight, the thicker nap resulting, as known in the art, in greater heat retaining capabilities. The material of which the blanket is fabricated comprises wool ber, the heat insulating characteristics of which have long been universally recognized, together with a comparatively small quantity of a material having greater tensile strength than wool, which material is preferably nylon or Daeron. By utilizing a suicient quantity of nylon liber in the warp threads these threads may be greatly reduced in size without sacrifice in mechanical strength. By thus reducing the size of the warp threads it becomes possible to increase the bulk and Weight of the ller or woof threads to a considerable extent. The weaving operation which follows results in the formation of a cloth in which the light but strong warp threads are, in a sense, buried. That is, the heavier and bulkier iiller threads largely conceal and protect the Warp threads so that, after the cloth has been felted in customary manner, the warp may not be reached by the needles of the napping machine. Hence the nap of the iinal article or blanket is wholly of wool liber derived from the iiller, no portion of the nylon ber containing warp being drawn into the nap. rihus, despite the use of nylon fiber in the fabrication of the blanket its heat insulating properties are not measurably lowered, this despite the fact that nylon liber has substantially less heat insulating value than wool iiber.

The procedure followed in the fabrication of the improved blanket will hereinafter be more particularly disclosed. The nature of the blanket produced will be more clearly understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan view of a small portion of the distinctive cloth of which the blanket is formed as it appears just prior to napping;

Figure 2 is a View of a small portion of the completed blanket, shown in the condition in which it appears after the napping operation has been accomplished, a corner being upturned so that an edge of the blanket may be observed;

Figure 3 is a section through the blanket, taken at right angles to the warp; and

Figure 4 is a similar section taken parallel to the warp. y

The warp threads which are employed in the fabrication of the improved blanket are formed of a mixture of nylon and wool fibers, preferably equal proportions, by weight, of nylon fibers and wool fibers being intermingled as a step preparatory to the spinning oi this thread. The nylon ber which is preferably employed may be described as cut, staple nylon which has been crimp set and is of 6 denier. It is important that the nylon fiber be crimped rather than in the form of straight laments since, if straight filament nylon iber were to be admixed with wool in the fabrication of the warp threads, the strength in tension of the resulting thread would be insufcient. When crimp set, cut staple nylon is employed the mechanical bond between the nylon and the wool liber is thoroughly elfective and the resultant thread has a maximum strength for a given weight of material.

The wool liber which is intermingled with the nylon ber in the formation of a mixture of wool and nylon to be spun into Warp thread is preferably of special iineness, being commonly designated (iO/64s wool by those engaged in trading in wools. The source of this wool is not important, but ineness is essential since the bers of a coarse wool may not be intermingled with nylon fiber in a very satisfactory manner. Furthermore, the diameters of the iine Wool iiber and the nyion ber which are to be intermingled and spun into warp threads should be approximately the same in order to produce the best results. It is not desirable, if a maximum strength, minimum weight warp thread is to be produced, to have the wool fiber appreciably greater in diameter than the nylon fiber or vice versa. The warp threads comprising equal mixtures of wool and nylon fibers are, in the spinning process, given thirteen twists to the inch and the spinning operation is so controlled that approximately 6900 yards of the completed thread will weigh oneA pound.

The ller or Woof thread, which is formed entirely of a good quality of wool, is of such character that only 1590 yards will weigh one pound. It is loosely twisted so as to have large bulk. In the formation of the cloth from which the finished blanket is made it is preferred to utilize 16 warp threads per inch of width and, when Warp threads of the type described are employed, the resulting warp will be amply strong in tension. rl'he Woof or nller threads are much more closely spaced, some 30 threads per inch of width of the material being used. Warp and Woof threads which have been fabricated of the materials and substantially in the manner above set forth may be woven together upon machines of standard character.

In the average case, using warp and ller threads of the type described, and with 16 warp threads and 30 ller threads to the inch a blanket will be formed in which the weight of the warp amounts to only of the Weight of the blanket. Thus the amount of nylon used is only 5%, by weight, oi the weight of the blanket, the remainder being wool. Of the wool utilized, nearly all is in the ller threads from which the nap is formed, only 5%, by weight, of the blanket being Wool which is used in the warp and hence out of reach of the napping needles. These proportions may be varied somewhat without departure from the invention but a blanket constructed substantially in the manner described is light and serviceable and, for a given weight of material utilized in its manufacture, is warmer than other blankets not so designed and constructed.

Prior to napping the cloth should be felted This may be accomplished in a conventional manner, as by passing the strip of cloth, in the direction of its warp, through a restricted aperture while in moist condition, water or other prepared liquid being added to the cloth just prior to its passage through such aperture. The mechanical crowding together of the threads of the cloth during felting brings about the development of heat in the fabric (to approximately 110 F.) and the heat-and the mechanical manipulation reduces the length of Woof or filling threads of the cloth, i. e. reduces the blanket Width, the all-wool threads becoming more serpentine and intertwisted. As the result also of this felting operation the filler threads are expanded transversely and the Warp threads become buried deeply in the filler of the blanket cloth. This is a matter of importance since the warp threads should not be reached by the napping needles during the napping operation. By following the procedure described a basic cloth is obtained upon which a very high or lofty nap may be raised, Without sacrifice of mechanical strength. The napping operation is carried out upon conventional napping machines, the cloth moving longitudinally of the warp in passing around the napping drums. The napping operation, however, is prolonged or extended, as compared with those napping operations which are customarily performed in the manufacture of blankets from cloth such as heretofore employed in blanket manufacture, so that eventually there is formed a nap which is deeper, loftier or thicker than those which have heretofore been realized in the manufacture of blankets of previously known types.

Havingthus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A napped woven bed covering having improved heat insulating properties and being formed of warp and filling yarns, said filling yarns being loosely twisted and formed wholly of wool bers and constituting about 9.3% by Weight of the covering, said warp yarns being :formed from an equal mixture of wool and crimped nylon staple and disposed substantially in the central plane of the blanket with the filling projecting transversely thereo and constituting about 10% by weight of the covering, said covering having a lofty nap, the oers of which are raised from said lling, the warp substantially in unnapped condition.

2. The bed covering as in claim i wherein the Wool bers and nylon staple forming said warp yarns are relatively fine and are of approximately the same diameter.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,423,827 Chagnon July 15, 1947 2,423,828 Chagnon July 15, 1947 2,536,974 Chagnon Jan. 2, '1 

